Daimler Regency
| width = | height = | weight = | wheelbase = | predecessor = Daimler Consort | successor = Daimler One-O-Four | designer = | sp = uk }} The Daimler Regency was a luxury car made in Coventry by The Daimler Motor Company Limited between 1951 and 1956. Announced at the October 1951 Motor Show,The Motor Show.The Times, Wednesday, Oct 17, 1951; pg. 4; Issue 52134 it was a 3-litre derivative of the 2½-litre Eighteen Consort. Only 52 examples of the first Regency were madeLord Montagu and David Burgess-Wise Daimler Century ; Stephens 1995 ISBN 1-85260-494-8 in the twelve months before production stopped.Daimler Car Cheaper Until Budget Day; Production of the new 3-litre model has been postponed until after the Budget.The Times, Tuesday, Feb 03, 1953; pg. 3; Issue 52536. Almost two years later a lengthened more powerful Regency Mark II was announced but, in turn, attracted few customers. Market placement review There were two standard Daimler-bodied versions, the short-lived Regency and the revised Regency labelled Mark II announced in October 1954. Daimler Empress Mark II, bodied by Hooper, was the catalogued super-luxury owner-driver or limousine variant on the Regency Mark II chassis. Slightly longer with a much longer boot and mudguards and lower-set the standard Daimler body could now be purchased with a 3½-litre or 4½-litre engine. The (at first) 4½-litre Sportsman was to be announced a few days laterDisplay advertisement, Daimler. The Times, Monday, Oct 04, 1954; pg. 5; Issue 53053. :Introductory pricing including tax: 3½-litre / 4½-litre engine :Regency Mark II saloon: £2,324 / £2,778 with the new Tubeless Tyres fitted as standard equipment :Regency Sportsman saloon: £2,650 / £3,104New Daimler Models. The Times, Thursday, Sep 30, 1954; pg. 3; Issue 53050 Straight-Eight production had ended in 1953. Its former position was thought to have been finally covered when the two bigger engines were announced for the Regency Mark II. The Regency Mark II was little more successfuI and was superseded in late 1955 by the 3½-litre One-O-Four which was one again little more than a variant with a more powerful engine.New Standard Vanguard.The Times, Friday, Oct 14, 1955; pg. 4; Issue 53351 The bigger engine went to the new Daimler Regina or DK400. Engine and transmission The range was launched with a six-cylinder 3-litre (2952 cc) 90 bhp engine. This was supplemented in 1952 by an enlarged 3468 cc version. The Regency II had a choice of the 3468 cc or larger 4617 cc six. All these engines were based on the same basic design seen previously as a four-cylinder in the Lanchester 14. A pre-selector 4-speed gearbox was fitted coupled to the engine by Fluid Flywheel. Chassis, and running gear The chassis was made of box section steel and was cruciform braced going over the rear axle. The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs but retained traditional leaf springs and live axle at the rear. Automatic chassis lubrication was fitted, operating "thermostatically every time the engine warm(ed) up", and the propeller-shaft centre bearing was "prepacked with grease" so did not require lubrication. However, the propeller shaft itself was not served by the system and four grease points required "attention every 1,000 miles". The brakes on the Regency were a Girling hydro-mechanical hybrid but this changed to fully hydraulic set up on the Regency II Worm and double roller steering was used. Coachwork The standard body for the Regency was a four-door, six-light (3 windows down each side) saloon made by Barker, who were Daimler owned. In 1952 it was joined by a convertible and the Empress II with razor-edge styling by Hooper. Only a small number of convertible Regency Barker Special Sports were made, perhaps three. They were externally distinguished by having front-hinged doors, not the "suicide doors" of the smaller-engined version. The bodywork on the Regency II was stylistically very similar to the earlier car but with a longer tail allowing a larger boot. Again there was a Hooper version, the Empress IIa and III but now also the Sportsman four-light saloon with coachwork by Mulliners (Birmingham).New Big Daimler Models. "The Motor" Vol 106, October 6 1954 Performance The British ''Motor'' magazine tested a 3468 cc Regency II saloon in 1955 recording a top speed of and acceleration from 0- in 22.7 seconds and a fuel consumption of . The test car cost £2324 including taxes. Commercial A spacious interior married with "an abundance of polished hardwood, not only for the facia but also for the door cappings, a floor .... covered with thick pile carpet" and the car's driving qualities will have attracted admiration, but purchase tax on cars was high and in 1954 the UK manufacturer-recommended retail price, including tax, for the standard bodied 3½-litre Daimler Conquest was £2,324. That price included a heater, but customer requiring a radio to be fitted would need to find another £48. In the same year Jaguar's recommended UK retail price for the similarly sized (and very effectively promoted) Mark VII was £1,680. (Jaguar buyers also received the heater included in the price, though they were obliged to find an extra £50 for a radio.) The price differential is probably enough to explain why relatively few Daimler Regencys found buyers. Silver Flash Lady Docker's October 1953 Earls Court Motor Show car, Silver Flash, was a metallic-silver two-seater two-door fixed-head coupé on the 3-litre Regency chassis. Alloy panelled with a large 'Sundym' glass panel in the roof the green leather seats were piped in red. The usual vanity drawer with silver accessories slid out from below the dashboard. Dashboard and door cappings were red crocodile leather as were the two fitted suitcase behind the seats. A pair of fins decorated the long tail. The car was finished in green. The green clashed with the interior trim so 48 hours before the show was to open she telephoned the designer, Osmond Rivers, to tell him to respray the car in metallic silver. The name Silver Flash was inspired by the famous BSA Golden Flash motorcycle. Somehow it won no prize in the coachwork competition run at the Show. The new Conquest roadster took second place in the coachwork competition. External links * Standard saloon by Barker. Announcement, company internal news item October 1951 * Standard saloon by Barker. October 1951 advertisement * Regency Mark II] * Empress II saloon by Hooper * Sportsman saloon by Barker, the engine capacity is 4617cc * Silver Flash References Regency Category:Vehicles introduced in 1951 Category:Vehicles of the United Kingdom